By adopting a shelter cat you save one life.
By choosing to spay or neuter, you save hundreds of lives.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Zebrina the cat

Today's guest blog post comes from Glory Lennon. Like other guest bloggers, mom met Glory on www.helium.com, a website for writers. In addition to writing articles, Glory also writes stories and blog posts. Meet up with Glory at http://www.helium.com/users/32782/show_articles

In the following, Glory shares her experience with Zebrina.

"What the heck is she doing?" the cat hissed. She glowered up at the human riding that noisy grass cutting contraption and told her, "You do realize you're inhibiting me from doing what I do best which is stalk my prey and pouncing on them until they die of fright."

The human, looking about as bright as the mole the cat had been about to snatch out of its hole, just stared back as if she'd never seen a predator before. Perhaps she hadn't, the cat mused. It might be wise to give this human a lesson on how the world runs in the country. This human had city slicker written all over her cute little designer shorts and tank top.

"Cats catch rodents around here, lady, and it ain't a pretty sight," the cat meowed but it was no use. This human was obviously not bilingual. Imagine such stupidity! And to top it all off she goes around cutting all this wonderful tall grass. What imbecile doesn't know this is the perfect cover for hiding and pursuing varmints?

"Well, what are you doing here? Are you lost, Kitty? Gosh, you are pretty, aren't you? You must be lost. Stray cats are never that pretty," the human said with an insipid smile on her face.

Kitty, did she say? How imaginative! The cat rolled her eyes to the sky. Shows how much this human knows! What in the world did beauty have to do with catching and killing field mice? The cat tried once more knowing it was futile but what else was she to do?

"Yes, human, I know I'm pretty but I'm also a trained killing machine so if you'll leave now I can get on with my work." She gave the human one more contemptuous look and turned back to her stalking.

"Guess you're hunting, huh?" the human said watching her.

"Duh," the cat meowed.

"Well, you can do that all you like. The moles are doing some awful digging in my flowerbeds. I could use a cat around here just as long as you stay outside," the human muttered as she turned the mower back on and left to cut the grass elsewhere.

The cat returned to her stalking but the mole had apparently burrowed itself in deep. Probably scared off by the noise. She shook her head, sighed and thought, "Humans....honestly! They don't even know the harm they do, do they?" Now thoroughly annoyed the cat sauntered off slinking through the tall grass in hopes of stumbling across another mole hole.

The cat didn't really want to return home. That horse farm was full at the moment, of cats unfortunately, not mice. If she wanted a meal she'd have to go where there wasn't as much competition and this field was ripe for the picking, or at least it had been before this human started destroying her hunting haven.

Not that it mattered. The cat knew of the human propensity to want rodents caught and yet they didn't seem to like it when cats eat them. What was the use of catching a meal, the cat wanted to know, if you're not going to at least take a nibble? What the heck is that about? She was certain she would never understand humans nor did she want to. Humans were highly overrated.

For a few hours the cat stuck around and did catch a scrawny looking mole and a tiny field mouse she found nibbling a fat, juicy strawberry in the fenced in place. She wasn't stuffed but it would have to do until she found something else to eat. Just as she turned towards the horse farm an enticing scent floated in the air. It was oddly familiar and yet the cat knew she had never smelled such a wonderful aroma before. Curious she sniffed the air and found it was coming from the human's house.

Of their own volition her paws took her to the smell and found to her horror that the human was not alone. She obviously had a mate and four kittens of her own. The cat knew that was far too many humans for her liking and yet that smell was too good to resist. She got closer and observed the crowd for a bit. They were a loud bunch all right!

The cat looked on totally baffled. Those human kittens looked old enough to be on their own and yet the human seemed intent on feeding them herself putting it right in front of them. How would they learn to catch their own food if the two humans just handed them food? Humans were just too weird.

"Hey, look! It's a cat!" shouted one of the human kittens. The shout made the cat jump back and she turned to leave until the human's mate threw a bit of food at her. It was that great-smelling stuff! The cat pounced on it as if it were a mouse fresh out of its hiding place.

"Please, do not throw my salmon at a stray cat," the human said to her mate with a note of disapproval in her voice.

"But he's hungry, mom," one of the human kittens said.

"It's just the skin," one said.

"He's so pretty," said another.

"Can we keep him?" the fourth one asked.

The human's mate threw a bit more fish to the cat and said, "Want some more, pretty Kitty? Come on up, we won't hurt you."

Wary, the cat stayed back but that fish smelled so good. It made her throw caution to the wind. It would only be one of her nine lives if they were luring her into a trap. She moved slowly toward the group but stopped just short of their reach. The human then placed a shiny sheet with some fish on it, most of it charred but it still smelled great. She approached slowly so as not to seem too eager then she pounced and ate all of it with the humans chattering nonsensically around her.

"She likes it, Mom!"

"It's salmon. Of course she likes it."

"Think she'll want to stay with us?"

"Whoa! No one said anything about getting another pet."

"Come on, Mom."

"You were complaining about mice eating your strawberries. Cat would take care of them."

" It won't be any trouble for you."

"Yeah, we'll take care of him."

"Oh, sure. I've heard that before. I'll end up having to do everything for that stupid thing and I don't like cats!"

"But look at him. He's beautiful! And so harmless. I doubt he'll cause much trouble."

The cat looked up then licking her chops appreciatively having just finished the best darn dinner she'd ever had. "Maybe there's hope for you humans yet," she meowed to them hoping the human kittens at least might understand.

"Look, he's saying thank you, Mom."

"He likes us," said one, slowly approaching with another tidbit of fish from his own plate.

The cat allowed a small petting from this creature in return for the yummy treat. When finished she looked up at all of them and purred, "Well, thanks for the fish. See ya 'round." She then hopped off the porch and ran across the yard darting into the trees.

For several weeks the cat returned every few days for a snack even allowing the human kittens a little scratch behind the ears. They even gave her a name after they figured out she wasn't a boy. Thankfully it was better than "Kitty" but not by much. Zebrina they called her because they said she had zebra stripes, whatever a zebra is. The cat now known as Zebrina rolled her eyes half disgusted, half grateful. It could have been worse, she supposed.

Then one day the weather turned nasty dipping temperatures down into the thirties.

Zebrina actually heard the human's mate say in a tentative voice, "It's not fit for man nor beast out there. Maybe we should let the cat stay for tonight?"

Zebrina saw the human give her mate the most contemptuous gaze she'd ever seen on a human. It was a most cat-like stare. Zebrina's respect for this human instantly grew tenfold. "There must be some cat in her," Zebrina meowed.

"See? She wants to stay and be warm. Let her stay, please?"

The human made a sound in her throat that sounded something between a growl and a hiss. "Wow! She is part cat. I like this human!" Zebrina meowed again.

"She's pleading with you. She won't be a bother," the human's mate said coaxingly, giving her a little cuddle and a nibble on her neck. Zebrina wondered if there was some cat in him too. He did have green cat eyes, she mused.

"Oh, all right! But only tonight. I'm sure she's got a home somewhere," the human said at last though she narrowed her eyes, wagged her finger and glared at Zebrina. "You better stay off my furniture and if you dare scratch anything I will personally skin you alive. Got me?"

"Oh, yeah," Zebrina purred as she curled contentedly into a ball at the human's feet. "She's definitely part cat. I'll have to keep her. I just hope she doesn't cause too much bother."